The implementation of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution was not included in the proposal of the cabinet of the newly elected Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, while the numerous parliament members (MPs), who voted on the cabinet, insist that the implementation of the article is their priority.
Kadhimi’s cabinet secured parliament confidence on the eve of May 7th, but his cabinet proposal does not mention the implementation of article 140, which provides a framework for the determination of the fate of the disputed areas.
Jamal Shkur, an MP from the faction of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said that, “the implementation of article 140 is not a priority of Kadhimi’s government, we have not heard anything that he would implement it.”
“But before the formation of the government, negotiation took place between Erbil and Baghdad, in which the issue of Kirkuk was discussed in details,” Shkur added.
The determination of the ownership of the Iraqi disputed areas is bounded to article 140 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution. The federal government should have implemented it in 2017, based on the article, through three main producers, which include the normalization of the areas, conducting a census, and holding a referendum to know the will of the people. However, such procedures are yet to take place.
Meanwhile, one of the points of the Kadhimi’s cabinet proposal mentions that the federal government, in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), will work on the suspended issues based on both sides agreements and in accordance to the constitution.
Kahdimi’s cabinet prioritize holing early elections, which might be the reason for the absence of article 140 in his cabinet.
Shkur added that, “KRG should put pressure on Kadihimi to work on the implementation of the article. There is a hope that he will work on it.”
Shirwan Dubarani, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, said, “earlier, the normalization of the disputed areas and the implementation of 140 were discussed in the negotiations of federal and regional government. The successive governments repeated the implementation of the article, but this time the current situation of Iraq will reveal whether Kadhimi can do it or not. But it is the unity of the Kurds that would lead to the implement the article, not Kadhimi’s cabinet.
